Caged Bird
by thehonorarycompanion
Summary: Tired of her boring and repetitive life full of school, eating, sleeping, and a little creep who loves her, Emma decides she needs something new. That's when she meets the Doctor. He seems like a crazy man who's escaped from the asylum, but she soon sees all he has to offer her. Time travelling, going to unknown planets, and fighting aliens can't be that difficult, right? 11/OC
1. Prologue

**A/N - Okay, so I totally stole the flower thing from Jumanji. But, yes, this is just a little glimpse into the not so distant future of this story ;) Just you wait.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

"Run!"

Emma did just that, turning and bursting down the dirt path. She'd only made it a few feet before something curled around her leg and tugged her feet out from under her, making her flop onto her stomach. She twisted onto her back, only to see that the large daisy had shot some sort of tentacle out of its center, and it was now wrapped around her ankle. "Doctor!" She screamed as it started to drag her forward. She felt his hands under her arms and he tried to pull her back. "Get it off of me!"

"I'm _trying_!"

"Try harder! Melt it with your screwdriver thingy!"

"I'm not going to melt it!"

"Oh, this is just grand! I meet you and I get eaten by a giant flower! I can see how our future would turn out!"

"Shut up!"

"I'll shut up when I'm not about to die!"

"You're not going to die!" He gave a hard yank and the tentacle popped right out of the flower, sending them both to the ground. The flower shrieked, backing into the trees with the tentacle unwrapping itself from Emma's leg before slithering after it. "See?" The Doctor panted, looking at the girl between his legs. "Not dead."

**A/N - I hope that got you guys a bit excited for the story? And I really hope some of the people who have read A Strange World have come to read this! Because I love you all dearly. I'm sure I'll love any new readers just as dearly :)**


	2. A Boy That Loves You

**A/N - Thank you to DoubleHeartedHuman, dietcokelover, Whyna Katran, happy-in-oz, and UltimateDoctorWhoFanGirl for reviewing!**

**Get prepared for a slow and boring start, though. It will probably be like this until we get to the Doctor, haha.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

"_The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: __**a boy that loves you**__."_

"Yes. _Yes_, mum, I'm coming up the street now. No, I'm not going to get mugged! You worry too-" The girl's sentence was cut short as someone ran straight into her, causing her to stumble out into the street. "Oi, watch it!"

"Terribly sorry!"

Emma Walker glared over her shoulder at the man, but continued walking, bringing her cell phone back to her ear. "Mum, stop shouting. It was just some careless runner. I can see the house now, so I'm going to hang up. Okay. _Okay_. Okay!" She shoved her phone into her pocket and made her way to the house at the very end of the street. She walked up the stone path, to the wooden door, and pushed it open. "See? Not mug-"

"Surprise!"

She nearly jumped back, laughing as she saw that the room was full of friends and family. "I've only been gone six months."

"Six years to us!" Both her mother and father pulled her into a group hug. "Welcome home, sweetheart." The former said before pulling back, grabbing her face. "Oh, you look so much more like an adult!"

"Again, mum, six _months_." Emma's smile faded as she heard a familiar yell. The yell of someone who'd been after her since she was seven. "Oh, no. Please tell me that Nathan isn't here."

Her mother grimaced. "Well, he heard we were planning a welcome home party for you..."

"No!" She turned to her dad. "You hate him as much as I do, dad! You hated him since he started stalking me! Make him leave. Tell him...tell him I'm a nun now. I went to New York to become a nun."

"I'm not going to do that, Emma." He patted her cheek, grinning. "Sometimes we have to speak with people we don't like. Besides, he could end up being your husband! You never know."

"I'm not marrying my stalk-"

"Hello, Emma!"

She forced a smile on her face, muttering a sarcastic, "thank you" to her parents before turning to Nathan. "Hi, Nathan."

"We'll speak with you later, dear!" Her mum called, dragging her father across the room to converse with other people.

"Blimey, it's been ages! Let's talk over some food, shall we?" Nathan grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her over to a table that was covered in plates of food. "How are the States? Are they as intimidating as people say they are?"

"The States are fine." She tugged out of his grasp.

"Great!" He picked up an empty plate, piling every kind of food on it. "How's university? Are you doing well in your studies?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine."

"Ah, fine, fine, fine. About as fine as your-"

"Is that my great aunt Ethel?" She cut him off, backing away from the table and laughing nervously. "I should probably have a chat with her. Probably doesn't have many years left, you know? Meanwhile, you've probably got at least fifty to add to the, what, fourteen years you've been stalking - _talking_ to me? I'll catch up with you in a bit!" She didn't even get a chance to turn around as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sure your aunt will keep on for a few more hours! I have so much to tell you..."

Emma let out a strangled cry.

_ooo_

"Oh, my rabbit just turned two and a half! Yesterday, actually!"

"Fascinating." Emma drawled. She was sitting on the couch across from Nathan, elbow on her knee and chin in her hand, watching as he talked with his mouth full of all sorts of food. She found herself wishing she hadn't taken a break from school, that she was back in New York. Six months was far too short.

"-what do you think, Emma?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What was that?"

"Silly, Em." He laughed, nearly maniacally. "Always lost in your head, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows and she tried her hardest to keep from gagging. "I said that you should come see my rabbit before you ship off back to school. Perhaps, tomorrow?"

"Oh." She flashed him a fake smile, sitting up straighter. "I actually thought I would spend some time with my parents tomorrow. They're probably awfully lonely without me, and I'm only here for a week. Maybe some other time?"

"Very well. The day after tomorrow?"

"Uh-" She stopped, seeing her mother approach them. "Mum!"

Nathan jumped up. "Lillian, I must say that this is a lovely party."

"Thank you, Nathan, but it ended two hours ago. It's time for you to leave." She caught Emma's relieved look and shook her head, amused.

"Oh, has it ended?" He frowned. "What a pity. I suppose time flies when you're talking to close friends." He looked over his shoulder to flash Emma a shining smile, which she half-heartedly returned. "I'll just finish my food and be on my way."

Emma's eyes nearly bugged out of her head at his full plate. "No!" She jumped up. "Take it with you!" She put her hands on his back, pushing him towards the door. "No need to be polite and stay here!"

"But your dish-"

"Keep it! Consider it a, uh, present for...me coming home. Mum, get the door." She waited until the door was opened and then shoved him outside. "Have a nice night, Nathan."

"But you haven't-"

"Go home, Nathan!" She slammed the door shut. With a sigh, she turned around. "I told you I didn't want to talk to him."

"I thought he would have gotten over his crush while you were gone." Her mother shrugged.

"Apparently not. As a matter of fact, it's gotten worse."

Her father walked out of the kitchen. "I think it's sweet. That boy is in love with you, my dear Emmy." He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"You know I hate that nickname, dad." She groaned. "And he's not in love with me, he's infatuated. It's disgusting." Remembering what her dad had said before, she shuddered. "Now, if we get married, I'll know who to blame."

"Oh, shush." He clapped his hands together. "Alright, you're home, the party is over, and it's just the three of us for the rest of the week! What do you say we try out a few board-"

"Hold that thought. Mum, dad, I love you both. I really do, but I'm tired. What with the flight and having to entertain Nathan all night. Maybe we could play some games tomorrow?"

They exchanged a look. "Sure thing, sweetheart." Lillian turned her towards the staircase. "Your room is exactly the same as when you left. You just go on and get some rest, and I'll wake you up in the morning."

"Thank you." She started up the stairs. "Goodnight, mum. Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight."

As soon as she got to her room, she fell on her bed, not even bothering to find some pajamas that she left behind. All her half asleep mind could think of was being home and telling her parents that she wanted to _stay_ home. That, and that she hadn't missed Nathan whatsoever.

"Really didn't miss 'im..." She murmured before drifting off to sleep.

**A/N - I hope that was good? Haha, I told you it'd be a bit slow! But, you've learned that Emma goes to a college in New York, you know her mother's name, you know the boy who's in "love" with her, and you know that she has a great aunt Ethel. Next chapter should have her telling her parents that she wants to come home (I wonder how that will go), perhaps a pinnacle of Nathan, and even the Doctor at the end. If you're good, that is. Though, you may have already secretly seen him...HAHA I HAVE FOOLED YOU. No, I haven't, it's pret**_**ty**_** obvious who he was. Oh, Lord, this is quite the long note.**


	3. Two Types of Mad

**A/N - Hahaha, I fully understand why the last chapter didn't get any reviews. It was mostly a bridge to get me here...I don't know.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

"Emma, are you listening?"

"Mmm."

"You're not listening."

Emma blinked a few times, tearing her gaze away from the bookshelf she was staring at. "Of course I'm listening. You were saying something about...birds?" She was met by two disapproving stares. "Alright, I wasn't listening. Sorry. What were you saying?"

"We were saying," Lillian picked up a book to take a quick look at the cover. "that we'd like to come to New York. What sort of parents would we be if we made you constantly travel? Right, Theodore?" She handed the book to her husband, not noticing Emma's skin get a couple shades lighter at the mention of New York.

"Right, dear. We can't have our best daughter travelling back and forth like this all the time!" He wrapped an arm around Emma and gave her a gentle shake.

"I'm your only daughter." She mumbled. "And certainly not the best."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She gave them a strained smile.

"Are you feeling alright, love?" He pulled back, frowning. "You've been stuck in your head all morning." He placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Hmm, feels alright to me."

"Dad, stop!" She couldn't help but laugh, batting his hand away. "Look, I know I said I'd spend the day with you two, but is it alright if I go to the jeweller's? You know that I've always loved looking at all the expensive things they have on display."

Her parents shared a smile. "Of course you can. Do whatever you'd like, and we'll meet back here in an hour."

"Thank you!" She was already out the door of the shop. "Coward." She ran her hands over her face. "Everything will be fine if you just tell them that you want to come home. It's a perfectly normal thing to want...even if they spent loads of money for you to go to university and you're being a royal _brat_. They'll understand, so stop avoiding-" Her sentence was cut short as she knocked into someone, falling flat on her arse.

"We ought to stop meeting like this." Someone said from above her, a slight hint of amusement in their tone. "Up you go!" A hand roughly hauled her to her feet and she found herself face to face with a vaguely familiar man.

"Do I know you, sir?"

"Yes. Well, no." He dipped his head. "A little yes, a little no. I believe I sort of ran into you last night...just a bit."

She eyed him, nodding her head slowly. "Right. Well, I should be on my way." She moved past him and continued down the street, ignoring him calling out for her to wait. When she was in front of the jeweller's, she looked back to see that he was watching her. "That's not creepy, or anything." She mumbled and pushed the door open.

_**ooo**_

Three hours later, Emma sat in a restaurant with her parents, continually taking gulps of water. She'd quickly forgotten about Creepy Running Guy — alright, so she managed to create a name for him before she forgot about him — and was focusing on telling her parents that she wanted to come home.

"Emma, if you keep drinking like that, you'll be in the toilet all night."

"Hmm?" Her eyes flicked up to her father before going to her water glass. "Oh, yeah." She sheepishly placed the glass back on the table.

"Okay, something has definitely been wrong with you all day. Are you upset with us because we made you talk to Nathan?"

"No! It's just...I..." She struggled to find the words she wanted to say, mouth opening and closing. Finally, she told herself to suck it up before spitting out, "I want to come home! For - for good." She straightened her back, nodding. "Yes. I want to come home. There, I said it. It's out and it's not going back in."

Her mother and father blinked at her, the latter a bit angrier. "Emma," he started. "we had a chat about this. We asked if you were one hundred percent sure you wanted to go to university in New York, and you said you were. We've spent _a lot _of money to send you there."

"I know." She moaned, confidence fading away. "I feel absolutely awful about this, but I hate it there."

"You say you love it every time we speak on the phone." Her mother cut in.

"I thought I was just homesick and it would pass, so I said I loved it to keep you from worrying." Emma ran a hand over her face. "I'm sorry. I tried to like it, I really did, but it's more boring than Birmingham! It's been half a year and I'm not even acquainted with anyone. You understand, don't you? Dad, please don't be angry with me."

"It's a bit hard, Emma." He pushed himself up from his seat. "If you weren't absolutely sure about going, you should have told us instead of making us spend all that money on all of this." With that, he turned away from the table and marched straight out the door.

Emma looked down at her lap. "I didn't expect him to be so angry."

"We did spend an awful lot of money for this, dear, and you're throwing it all away." Her mother sighed. "I'll go talk to him and try to calm him down, so we can have a nice family discussion about this." She left, leaving Emma all alone. Though, she wasn't alone for very long.

"Well, that was a bit harsh. You'd think a father would be happy to have his little girl come home."

She laughed. "Not my dad."

"Is he usually that angry?"

"Of course not. He's wonderful, but he put a lot into this and..." She trailed off when she looked up to see Creepy Running Guy. "_You_."

"Me." He nodded.

"Are you stalking me, or something?" She slowly stood from her seat, watching him closely in case he made any sudden movements. "Honestly, first you run into me last night, then _I _bumped into _you_ this morning — saw you watching me after that one, by the way — and now you're here."

"_Honestly_, I'm not stalking you." He paused at that, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Alright, so I may have started following you after our second encounter, but I kept hidden until I could get you alone. Which would be now."

"What the hell kind of creepy shit is that?" The buzz of everyone talking abruptly stopped as the entire restaurant turned to glare at her. "Sorry." She grimaced. "So sorry! I'll just be...yeah." She grabbed her coat and tugged it on before storming out of the place, pointlessly hoping that the man wouldn't continue to follow her.

"So, your name's Emma?" He appeared beside her, easily keeping up with her quick steps.

"No, it's Goa."

"Goa?"

"Exactly. Goa Way, if you want the full version."

"Well, no need to be rude."

She suddenly stopped walking, turning to him with a stomp of her foot. "About as rude as stalking someone, wouldn't you say?" Her hands went to her hips.

"I told you, I'm not stalking you!"

"Okay, following me, walking behind me without my knowledge, whatever you'd like to call it!"

"I'd like to call it having a question to ask you!"

They went silent, staring each other down, white clouds puffing out of their mouths from the cold air. "Alright. Will you leave me alone if I answer your question?"

"Depends on the answer."

"Ask me, then."

"Has anything strange happened recently?" He looked at her expectantly, hands folded in front of him.

"What? That's it?" She let out a laugh. "You want to know if anything strange has happened?"

"Yes."

"Fine. What do you mean by strange?"

"Oh, you know. Disappearances, weird noises...large, carnivorous flowers." He said the last one quickly, but she heard it loud and clear.

"Large, carnviorous flowers? You're mad! You're absolutely mad _and_ a stalker to top it all off." She shook her head. "Look, I've had a very bad day, and I don't need whatever this is. So, hop off to your little insane asylum, I'm going home." She tried to turn away, but he grabbed her wrist.

"I may be mad, but that doesn't mean I'm not serious."

She gritted her teeth, trying to tug out of his grasp. "If you don't let me go, I'll scream."

"Answer my question and I'll let you go."

"Why do you need _me_ to answer your question? There are bunches of other people who haven't been here for a day. Ask them! I'm sure Crazy Bob will give you a fantastic answer."

"Crazy...never mind that! It doesn't matter why I've asked you. Stop being so difficult and..." He trailed off and looked above her head. "You may want to turn around."

"Why? You're probably just going to grab me as soon as I do." He said nothing, so she let out an exasperated sigh and turned around. "Okay. A forest. There's a flower peeking out. It may be a bit bigger than most flowers, but it doesn't seem so carniv-" She cut off with a squeak as something stem-like shot out of the flower and wrapped around a nearby deer, reeling it in and snapping its petals shut. "Oh, my God."

"Still think I'm mad?"

"Oh, _my God_!" She repeated, not sure what else to say.

"Yes, we've established that." His hand moved from her wrist to her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Now is the time where we run before it realizes we're here."

**A/N - I was up until 3 AM writing this for you guys. It probably is stupid and doesn't make sense. Haha, this is why I stick to one-shots. Next chapter may be a tiny bit better, though.**


	4. Not Crazy

**A/N - Thank you to Whyna Katran for reviewing! And thanks to everyone who favorited and followed. Loads of you followed after that chapter, wow.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who.**

Emma bolted into her parents' house, waiting for Creepy Running Guy to enter before she slammed the door shut. She spun around to face him, leaning heavily against the door to keep from collapsing. "What," she panted. "was that?"

"A Flower." He said, barely paying attention to her as he looked around the foyer.

"Yes, clearly, but what _is_ it?" She moved to snatch a family photo out of his hand, placing it back on its rightful table. "Some sort of scientific mutation?"

"What?" He scoffed. "That's ridiculous. It's an alien."

"And mutation was ridiculous? Come on, what is it? Really?"

"I told you, it's an alien. It's from the Flower race, and it came here from the planet Magnoliophyta."

"Oh, right! Is that the one with the rings around it?" Her sarcasm earned her a harsh glare. "Let me guess, you're an alien, too?"

"Yes, actually." His glare disappeared as he gave her a smug smile. "Time Lord."

"...what?"

"Time Lord. Lord of time. I can travel through time and space." He rolled his eyes. "Keep up, would you?"

She let out some sort of squeak, running her hands over her face. "Lord, I've gone completely mental. I mean, sure, it was bound to happen, but I expected something a little subtler. I did not expect to imagine man-eating flowers, and certainly not _you_." She threw her hand out towards him for emphasis. "Some time-travelling stalker who can unlock doors with his wand." She would have rambled on if he hadn't grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him.

"You're not mental. I'm about as real as the mouth on your face, and unfortunately, so are the Flowers. I'm sure it's a lot to take in for a human like you, but just accept it. Okay? Oh, and it's a _screwdriver_, not a wand." He watched her struggle to find the right words before she let out a defeated sigh.

"The common expression is the _nose_ on your face."

"Lovely!" He gave her a hard slap on the back, not seeing the pained expression on her face as he turned around. "You have a kitchen around here?"

"Through that door." She followed him into the kitchen, trying to process all the information. To be honest, she was still pretty sure that she'd gone crazy. "That one can't follow us here, can it?"

"Of course not." He started rummaging through cupboards and drawers. "Once its planted itself, it can only move about twenty or so feet. Ah!" He pulled a tin of biscuits out of one of the cupboards and sat down at the small table.

Emma sat across from him, watching him excitedly pull open the tin and shove a biscuit into his mouth. "So, if there are giant flowers that eat meat, does that mean that flowers on earth are their babies and they eat things when we're not looking?"

"No. Well, yes. They are baby Flowers, but people end up killing them before they get big enough to eat anything." Crumbs fell from his mouth and scattered all over the table. "Jammie Dodger?" He held out the tin.

"No, thanks." She eyed the tin with a frown. "If you're the good guy," she looked back up to him. "shouldn't you be killing it?"

He swallowed the rest of the biscuit and lowered the tin, shaking his head. "I don't kill."

"Oh. Then, shouldn't you be...sending it back to Magnum PI or whatever?"

"Magnoliophyta." He corrected her. "And it's a bit hard to send it back home when you've got a panicking girl on your hands."

"Panicking? I wasn't panicking. I was clearly in shock."

"Yes, whatever you say. You weren't helpful, that's all I know."

"_You_ try being helpful when you see a giant flower eating a deer!"

"I-"

"Emma, I heard talking in here...why are all the cupboards and drawers open?" Her mother suddenly appeared in the room, looking around. Her eyes landed on Creepy Running Guy. "And why is there a strange man eating your father's Jammie Dodgers?"

"You can see him, too?" Emma gasped. "That means I'm not insane." She whispered that bit to herself.

"Hello! You must be Emma's mother." He stood, grabbing Lillian's hand and shaking it vigorously. "I'm the Doctor."

"Nice to meet you, but, um, Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor." He let go of her hand and returned to his seat. "You have a lovely daughter. A bit closed-minded, but she comes around."

She let out an awkward laugh and leaned over to Emma. "What's going on?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. Has dad gotten any happier?"

"A bit, but not much. He's gone upstairs right now, and we're going to talk some more. I'll leave you two alone. Try not to let him murder you."

"Right, mum." Emma watched her mother leave before quickly turning back to the Doctor, as he called himself. In the back of her mind, she was pretty thankful that she didn't have to call him Creepy Running Guy anymore. "Why did you tell her that you're a doctor?"

"_The_ Doctor, not _a_ doctor. That's what I'm called."

"What? That doesn't make any sense! You're an alien who travels through time, apparently. Not a doctor."

"I know that." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure why I'm called that, I just am. It's a lot easier than Alien Who Travels Through Time, isn't it?"

"I suppose."

"Yes, well," he stood, leaving the tin of biscuits open. "now that I've had a snack and met your mum, I should head on out and take care of this Flower problem." He started towards the door, but froze at the sound of her voice.

"Wait a moment, would you?" She took a deep breath and rose on slightly shaky legs. "Look, I'm not sure if all this alien business is really. I'm only about eighty-three percent sure that _you're_ real. My mum could be just as crazy as me, you know? But if it is real, if you are an alien, and if these Flower things aren't just in my head, I'd like to help." She shrugged. "Even if I am insane, I'd like to get something out of this before they send me off to the ward."

The Doctor stared at her for a few seconds before a smile spread over his face. "I knew you had promise as soon as I saw you. Just took a lot of pushing, eh? You need to know, Emma, if you panic again, I'll be forced to drop you off at home and do this on my own."

"I won't _go into shock _again, Doctor."

"And you're fine with the risk of being eaten by a Flower?"

"Perfectly fine." She gave a ghost of a smile. "That'd actually be a nice adventure, being eaten by something I thought was just a harmless plant." _Better than going to a boring university, in a busy city, and far better than waiting around for a disappointed father to get in a better mood, _she thought.

"I think I like you, Emma."

**A/N - Wow, that one just flew out of me, haha. I don't know when I'll start writing the next chapter, because I'll be busy tomorrow and Monday. I'll try to do it soon!**


	5. Marked By a Flower

**A/N - Thank you to Whyna Katran, Chuu112, happy-in-oz, ValarieaDROP32, and JT for reviewing :)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

"This is it?"

"This is it."

"I've changed my mind!" Emma slapped her hands together, turning to walk away. "You have fun, I'm going to-"

The Doctor grabbed her shoulders and turned her back to face the forest. "You wanted to come. You're not leaving before we even get to the good part. Come along, then." He guided her through the trees.

"_Good_ part? You really are mad."

"Yes! It's best you figure that out now."

"Lovely." They walked in silence for a moment. "So, you said the Flower can only move twenty feet, right?" She saw him nod. "And it can partially come out of the forest, which means it's probably-"

"Right in front of us."

"What?" She looked up to see that the Flower was, in fact, right in front of them. She let out a quiet yelp and stumbled back into the Doctor's chest. "It's...much bigger than it looked before." She straightened her posture as she heard a slight rumbling sound. "Wait, is it _snoring_?"

He grinned. "Yes, it is. This is brilliant! I've never been up close to one while it's sleeping." Just as he said that, he stepped on a twig, making it snap in half. The snoring stopped and the Flower's petals shook.

"And you still haven't been up close to one while it's sleeping, you _idiot_."

"Oi, I didn't mean to wake it up!"

"But you-" A loud growl made the two completely forget about their argument, instead focusing on the Flower. "Lord, please tell me you had a plan before we came here."

"No, I figured something would come to me when I saw it."

"Did something come to you?"

"Nope."

"What do we do?"

"Run!"

Emma did just that, turning and bursting down the dirt path. She'd only made it a few feet before something curled around her leg and tugged her feet out from under her, making her flop onto her stomach. She twisted onto her back, only to see that the large daisy had shot some sort of tentacle out of its center, and it was now wrapped around her ankle. "Doctor!" She screamed as it started to drag her forward. She felt his hands under her arms and he tried to pull her back. "Get it off of me!"

"I'm _trying_!"

"Try harder! Melt it with your screwdriver thingy!"

"I'm not going to melt it!"

"Oh, this is just grand! I meet you and I get eaten by a giant flower! I can see how our future would turn out!"

"Shut up!"

"I'll shut up when I'm not about to die!"

"You're not going to die!" He gave a hard yank and the tentacle popped right out of the flower, sending them both to the ground. The Flower shrieked, backing into the trees with the tentacle unwrapping itself from Emma's leg before slithering after it. "See?" The Doctor panted, looking at the girl between his legs. "Not dead."

"Don't be so sure about that one." She jerked away from him, brushing dirt off of her pants. "I think I went into cardiac arrest for a second. Oh!" She glared at him. "And that _better_ have been that screwdriver in your pocket."

He pushed himself to his feet, mouth falling open. "Of course it was my screwdriver! I don't just go around...no!" He pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and shoved it into his jacket, muttering to himself. "You humans, with your minds always in the wrong place."

"Like you _Time Lords _are any better! I'll bet-"

"Alright, stop it." He held his hands up. "There's a Flower that already wanted to eat us, and now we've gone and injured it, so it's probably very angry. Time to run away and think of a plan."

"Run away to where? My parents might call the police if they hear you going off about carnivorous flowers."

"Then we'll go somewhere else."

_**ooo**_

"It's a box."

"It's a TARDIS."

"What's that stand for? Tiny and Ridiculous-"

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Ah. Must be awful cramped, travelling through time in a police box."

The Doctor sighed and pulled a key out of his pocket, using it to unlock the doors. Emma blinked against the orange glow that came from the box. "Go in. See for yourself how _cramped_ it is."

"Fine." She walked into the TARDIS and couldn't keep her eyes from widening. It was far bigger on the inside, some sort of control panel in the middle of the room, and several sets of stairs. "Whoa. It's..."

"Say it." He had apparently walked up behind her while she looked around. "Everyone does."

"It's...nice! So," she turned to him. "you going to start thinking of a plan soon?"

He blinked at her. "_Nice_? Of course that's all I get from you. Go sit down, you're no use to me right now."

"Aw, thank you!" She gave him a tight smile before scowling and sitting in a chair off to the side. Her ankle started to itch, so she absently scratched it while watching him move around the console. "What are you doing?"

He barely gave her a glance, instead focusing on some sort of screen. "Research."

"...research? Bloody _research_? You know of Flowers, you told me plenty about Flowers, but to come up with a plan to defeat this one, you have to do research?"

"Yes. Now, shut up." She rolled her eyes, but said nothing more, just listening to him ramble on about Flowers and ridiculous things — like how a squirt of weed killer might scare it back to its planet, but _no_, that might anger it even more. She was so busy listening to him and looking into space, she didn't realize he had walked over to her. "What's the matter with your ankle?" She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! What are you talking about?" She looked down to see that she was still scratching her leg. "Oh, it just itches, that's all."

"Hmm." He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her leg.

"Hey! What do you-"

"Oi, no kicking!" He glared up at her, shoving up her jeans to reveal that her ankle was turning green. "Oh, this is absolutely brilliant!"

"What the hell is that?" She screamed, struggling to get away from him, but he wouldn't let up. "And how could it possibly be _brilliant_, you freak? I'm not sure what planet Time Lords are from, but on earth, green skin is not brilliant!"

He let her go and dashed back to the console, a grin on his face. "But, Emma, this is brilliant. It's marked you! Perhaps you're not useless right now, after all."

"It's _what_ me?" She got up, chasing him as he ran around the console. "Now, hang on a minute-"

"This is definitely going to send it back to Magnoliophyta! Well, most likely." He froze. "Possibly. Maybe. Hopefully." He waved a hand through the air, laughing to himself. "I came up with this, it will definitely work." He started round the console again, so Emma darted the other way, making him skid to a halt. "Excuse me."

"No." She held a finger up to silence him. "You came up with a plan to send the Flower home and make Birmingham boring again, that's great! Want to let me in on it, considering it seems to do a lot with me?"

"Yes, of course. I should, shouldn't I?" He grabbed onto her shoulders, smiling. "When a Flower goes to eat someone, it makes sure to mark them in case they escape. It's very rare, but you managed to escape because of me." He ignored her scoff. "Once it's marked you, it's main focus will be you. It won't eat another human or animal until it gets you, do you understand? So, it will either lure you into the woods by calling your name, or die of starvation."

"Alright, but who would be stupid enough to go near the woods after almost being eaten by an oversized plant?"

"That's the thing. It sort of," he removed his hands from her shoulder to make some sort of gesture. "_worms_ its way into your head. It learns the voice of your loved ones and calls your name in your mind. You'll try to find the source, and you'll end up in the forest again. Where you'll be eaten."

"Didn't know something so harmless was capable of so much..." She muttered to herself. "Why is this brilliant, again?"

"Because! Once it finds out who I am and that it has to go through _me_ to get to you, it'll run."

"But...you just said it won't stop until it eats me or dies of starvation."

"I know, but once it hears my name, it'll forget all about you."

Emma sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't think this will work, but we might as well try. Here's to hoping I'm crazy and imagining all this, because if not and I get eaten by that Flower?" She smirked at him. "I'll haunt you for the rest of your days." He couldn't help but return the smirk, shaking his head.

"Right. I won't let you get eaten, then."

**A/N - Ah, in the next chapter, this whole Flower thing comes to a close. And, Emma could leave college and upset parents behind to be with the Doctor? I don't know, man. We'll have to wait and see.**


	6. A Departed Flower

**A/N - Thank you to Chuu112, Whyna Katran, Summer Rosewood, Ali, CloudCukooLandHasAQueen, and Guest for reviewing! I'm so glad you all like the story and Emma! It means so much to me :) Your reviews never cease to make me smile, even when I'm in a terrible mood.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

_"Emma, Emma, Emma..."_

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Do you hear someone calling my name?"

"No."

"Great." Emma ran a shaky hand through her hair. "The Flower's pretending to be my mum, then."

She and the Doctor had left the TARDIS two or so minutes earlier, headed for the forest, and she started hearing her mother a minute into their walk. The voice got louder the closer they got to their destination. "Does it scare you?" He asked.

"What?" She scoffed. "No! I'm just not looking forward to wasting my afterlife haunting _you_." She crossed her arms over her chest, walking faster so she could get ahead of him. She didn't even realize that they were surrounded by trees.

_"Emma!"_

"There's nothing wrong with being scared." He easily caught up with her. "Though, you have no reason to be. I won't let it hurt you."

"I wish I could believe that, but I don't even know you!"

_"Emma..."_

"You don't know me? Of course you know me! I'm the Doctor, I'm a Time Lord, I can travel through time with my TARDIS-"

"I know certain things about you, but I don't _know_ you!" She stopped walking and whirled around to face him. "I mean, I've just met you today and that all started with you bloody stalking me! Who am I to know that you're not going to feed me right to it? Or maybe you're evil and the Flower is good!" She gasped, eyes wide, and pointed at him. "That's what this is, isn't it? You try to gain my trust, telling me that this Flower wants to eat me. But it wants to save me from you!"

"Well, that's just ridiculous."

"You're going to send it back to Steel Magnolias, or whatever, and then abduct me! And stick me with things!"

"Stick you with..._things_?"

"Yes, needles full of experimental alien medicine and such." She gave him a harsh glare. "I _knew_ you were a perv-"

_"I'm going to eat you, Emma."_

She suddenly cried out. The voice was _definitely_ not her mother's anymore, instead deep and gravelly. A sharp pain radiated through her head and she grabbed it, doubling over. "Okay, that is pain. That is terrible pai-" She couldn't even finish her sentence as the pain intensified, sending her to her knees.

"Emma?" The Doctor grabbed her, trying to lift her chin. "Emma, I need you to look at me. Can you do that?" He got a slight shake of her head as an answer. "Oh, no. This means we're close. It's weakening you, so you can't run away again. Get behind me, okay?" She didn't budge, so he took hold of her arms and forcefully dragged her behind him, just as the Flower emerged from a gathering of trees. Its tentacle was already shooting out, stopping inches away from his nose. It growled softly. "No, I will _not_ get out of the way. Now, put that _thing_ back in your face. Well, your disc. You don't have a face." It hissed, but drew back its tentacle. "Good. Now, what's your name?" Another hiss. "Bellis? Well, Bellis, it would be very kind of you to stop hurting my friend. No? Why not? Because it makes her weak? I don't see how that helps you, considering I'm standing between you."

"Of course you speak Flower, you freak." He heard Emma mumble from behind him and he smirked.

"Their language is called Floral, Emma. I know it tried to eat you, but have _some _respect." He returned his attention to Bellis. "Thank you. Speaking of the whole eating thing, you can't do that. You can't eat her." It gave a chirp. "Nothing makes her special. No, no, a lot of things make her special. I'm not sure what, but I know that they're there and that I'll find them, and-" He paused. "Not important. Anyway, you shouldn't be eating _any_ people, her included." Bellis seemed to be angry at that, its petals stretching out as it moved forward. "I can't stop you? I think I can. Oh, did you really just call me a pathetic human?" The Doctor stepped towards it until they were practically touching. "Let me tell you something, Bellis. I'm not some pathetic human. I'm not any sort of human. I am something that you should fear." Bellis made a noise resembling a laugh. "You won't get a chance to devour her in front of me." He spat out. "I hope you know that, I wouldn't, but I _could_ destroy your _entire_ race." His lips twitched, nearly turning to a smile as the Flower shuddered slightly. "Do you know who I am yet, Bellis? No? Well, let me give you a hint. I'm the Doctor."

Bellis reared back at that, smacking into a couple of trees and nearly shaking the whole forest. It made a loud clicking noise. "No," the Doctor lowered his head. "I'm not joking. I'm the Doctor, the last of the Time Lords. Do you know what I've done?" He then muttered something in Floral, something that a now fully alert Emma couldn't understand. Something that she probably wasn't supposed to understand. "So, I suggest you run." His tone abruptly changed to a happier one. The Flower let out a loud shriek, making both him and Emma cover their ears. A white light enveloped it for only a second before both it and Bellis were gone. "Ha!" The Doctor turned to Emma. "Told you it would work! You doubted me and thought I was the evil one, but look at this."

"Yeah, yeah." She pushed herself off the ground, a hand on her head. "It only worked 'cause you can actually be slightly threatening when you want. Ugh, I've still got a bit of an ache..."

"Come on, let's get you home."

_**ooo**_

"So, can it come back?" Emma walked out of her bathroom to find the Doctor lounging on her bed, his hands behind his head. Her parents were still locked up in their room, seemingly asleep, so she didn't have them on her case about bringing the Doctor to her bedroom.

"Probably not. I scared it away for a good century or two." He furrowed his brow. "Why is there a picture of Johnny Depp on your ceiling?"

She rolled her eyes and sat on the foot of the bed. "I was going through a phase before I left for university. I have every one of his films on that shelf over there."

"Hmm, I met him once. Nice fellow. Though, he thought I was weird, which is really something coming from him."

"Yeah. Hey, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really not insane, am I? You're real, Bellis was real."

"Everyone's a bit insane." He sat up. "But I'm real and Bellis is real. A lot of things are real."

"Can you...really travel through time?"

"Let me show you." He hopped to his feet and walked right out of the room. Not even five seconds later, he jumped back in with a loud "hello!" that nearly made Emma fall off the bed.

She put a hand to her chest. "What was that for?"

"I went to get my TARDIS."

"No, you didn't! You walked out and walked right back in!"

"Look out your door."

She eyed him warily, but stood and made her way over to the door, peeking out. Her jaw fell open when she saw the blue box sitting in the hallway. "But," she spun around to look at him. "but you were just...and you...how?"

"I've finally got you shocked by something!" He grinned. "It's simple, really. I went to get the TARDIS, then I travelled back to five seconds after I left. Though, I'm surprised you didn't hear the landing."

"What...okay, I need to sit." She rushed to her bed and collapsed on it. "A lot has happened today. I mean, I probably ruined my relationship with my father, I met you and thought you were a stalker, I found out that flowers are the babies of aliens, I found out you were an alien, I got marked and almost eaten by one of the aliens, and now I'm just very confused. And oddly excited." A smile started to spread over her face. "Today was very exciting. Confusing and exciting."

"I didn't know you could express happiness."

"Oh, shut up!" She laughed. "I can be happy. I can also be thankful." Her laughter faded as she rose from the bed and walked over to him. "I know I've made a lot of assumptions about you, but I'd say it was pretty rational. I mean, it's not every day that you meet an alien who saves you from other aliens, so I was sort of-"

"Scared out of your mind?"

"In shock."

"Of course. Has that always been your excuse when you're scared?"

She gave him a glare. "I'm trying to have a touching moment here! Anyway, even though I made some assumptions about you, and also made the assumption that I was crazy, I have to say that I was wrong. And thank you. My life has been absolutely boring the past few months. You know, I sleep, ignore calls from Nathan, go to university, eat, and then the cycle starts all over. Today was exactly what I needed." She bit her bottom lip. "Okay, not exactly. Something more normal, like skydiving would have sufficed, but this worked. So, thank you."

"You're welcome." He briefly considered hugging her, but decided against it. He wasn't sure how long her kindness would last. "Um, who's Nathan?"

"Doesn't matter. You probably have some sort of alien business to attend to somewhere else, don't you? Plus, I have a life to get back to. Well, sort of. I have a father to apologize to, and all that." She crossed her arms. "So, bye?"

"Yes, I suppose." He begrudgingly took a few steps back. "Bye, Emma." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. This time, it took three seconds to come back. "You know," he stuck his head into the room, startling Emma yet again. "you don't have to go back to your boring life."

"What?"

"You could come with me." He stepped inside. "If you thought today was exciting, imagine all the other planets. All the other times. We could go to Paris in the twentieth century, or we could go to a planet where you can sleep on actual clouds."

She wanted to say yes so badly, but she knew she couldn't. "No. No, I can't. My mum and dad would definitely notice that I'm missing, so would the university. Oh, have to drop out of that by the way, and then there's-" She was interrupted as he placed a finger on her lips.

"When you're ready to come back, I can drop you off right here." He slowly lowered his hand.

"So, _here_ here? I could be travelling with you for months, but you could drop me off at this exact time and no one would ever know a thing?"

"Exactly. What do you think?"

She opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I don't know!" She cried out, beginning to pace back and forth. "I mean, this is a bit suspicious. Why me? I'm not important!" She didn't notice how serious his face got until he grabbed her shoulders to stop her from pacing.

"Who told you that?"

"Nobody told me that! It's just," she sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm Emelyne Walker, a twenty-one year old univerity student from Birmingham. That doesn't exactly scream, 'most important person in the world'."

"You may not be the most important person in the world," he put a hand on the side of her face. "but you _are _very important. You're Emelyne Walker, the twenty-one year old university student from Birmingham who was brave enough to tell her parents that she no longer wanted to live in New York. The twenty-one year old university student who tried to face the alien who planned to eat her, even though she was scared-"

"I was very slightly in shock, thank you."

"-out of her mind. You have a lot of promise, Emma, and I really think you should come with me."

"Hmm." She took hold of his wrist and pulled his hand away from her face. "I just need to make absolutely sure of a couple things. Did you stalk me?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. A bit."

"Are you going to hold me hostage and do alien science on me?"

"A definite no."

"Then, Doctor-"

_"Oh, Emma! Well, you came and you gave without taking, but I sent you away! Oh, Emma!"_

Emma and the Doctor shared a horrified look at the dying cat-like voice and rushed to the window. "Oh, Lord." She put a hand over her face. "_That's_ Nathan."

"_Well, you kissed me and stopped me from shaking, and I need you today, oh, Emma!_" Nathan dropped his guitar and fell to his knees. "I need you, Emma! Don't go back to New York! Love me!" He curled into the fetal position, sobbing.

"By any chance, were you about to agree to coming with me?"

"Yes."

"Right. Let's go."

**A/N - *cue Doctor Who theme music* And that's the end of the Flowers! I hope that wasn't too confusing, out of character, or rushed. It just all wrote out so easily, so I don't want to do it over. If anything is spelled wrong, it's because it's five AM and I'm tired :P Amy and Rory could possibly be in the next chapter!**


	7. Bodies of Standing Water (Or Ponds)

**A/N - Thank you to UltimateDoctorWhoFanGirl, Hufflepuff Hex, Whyna Katran, Guest, Ali, m, ConfusedSoAmI, and Lady Island Rose for reviewing! :)**

**Sorry it's been so long! Writer's block :(**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

"We could go anywhere in time or space." The Doctor made his way around the console, dragging Emma with him. "The ninth century to visit good, old Alfred the Great? A planet made entirely of chocolate? Zimbabwe? The question is," he spun her under his arm and she landed in the jump seat with a quiet 'oof'. "where do you want to start?"

She bit her bottom lip. "Anywhere I want?" He nodded. Hundreds of places and times flew through her mind, but one stuck out the most; one place she'd wanted to go since she was a little girl. "I want to go to Italy."

"Alright!" He clapped his hands, turning back to the control panel. "What are we talking? Nineteenth century, Bettino Ricasoli as Prime Minister?"

"I was thinking we could just go to Italy. Today."

His shoulders slumped and he faced her again, frowning. "That's it? Your first real adventure with me, and you want to hop off to Italy!"

"Yes." She stood, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is that a problem, Doctor?" She saw him gulp.

"Nope. Not a problem. Italy, it is!" He suddenly paused. "No, wait. Mind if I pick up a few friends first?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead running around and pushing buttons. A whirring noise filled the room and the TARDIS shook slightly, sending Emma back into the seat. "Sorry!" He met her glare with a smile. The whirring stopped and he dashed to the door, swinging it open and sticking his head outside. "Ponds!"

Emma wanted to know why he was yelling about bodies of standing water.

"Fancy a trip to Italy?"

And why he was asking them if they wanted to go to Italy. "Definitely mad." She mumbled to herself.

_**ooo**_

"So, you travel with the Doctor now?"

Emma looked away from the fountain to face Amy and Rory. After a very quick introduction — which consisted of the Doctor going, "Amy this is Emma, Emma this is Amy. Rory this is Emma, Emma this is Rory" and then accidentally introducing himself to everyone — the Doctor swept them off to Italy. He told them to stay close, just in case something happened, but something had caught his eye and he'd wandered off over half an hour before, leaving Emma, Amy, and Rory to make their way around Rome.

"I suppose." She said. They looked like parents quizzing their child's date, and it was clear that they didn't trust her yet. "I mean, yes. This is the first place I've ever gone with him, but I guess that means I travel with him now. Hopefully he keeps me around." Her attempt at a joke failed. She sighed. "I can tell our friendship is off to a great start!"

"It's not that." Amy circled around her. "I'm sure you're a wonderful person, but we want someone good for our Doctor." She stopped when she was at Rory's side again. "Tell us about you."

"Uh..." She was always bad at telling people about herself, so she decided to spit out the first thing that came to mind. "Did you know that flowers are just the babies of an alien race that feasts on humans, but we kill them before they get big enough to eat us? I know that, thanks to him." _Where in the bloody hell did _that _come from? _She really wanted to hit herself for that. She wasn't shocked, though, because she always got frustratingly stupid when someone wanted to know about her. The little version of herself inside her head stopped smacking herself when she realized that Rory was grinning and Amy was smirking. A yell coming from behind them prevented either of them from saying anything.

"Run!" The Doctor darted past them, grabbing onto Rory and Emma's wrists to drag them behind him. Rory was quick to grab Amy. They'd ran a few yards before Emma finally asked,

"What are we running _from_?"

"An old friend!" He left it at that, ducking into an alley and coming to an abrupt stop, causing the two he was holding onto to slam into his back. "Where's the TARDIS?" He let them go, rushing around the vicinity with his hands held out. "It's not here! It's just not here!" He spun around to face them. "How can it not be _here_?"

"Maybe you didn't park it here?" Emma immediately raised her hands up in surrender at his glare. "Sorry."

"I parked it right here, I know I did." He reached into his jacket for his screwdriver, only to come up empty handed. "Where's my sonic?"

"You take us travelling for the first time in weeks, and you run into an old _friend_, lose the TARDIS, and your sonic." Rory dragged a hand over his face. "Why am I not surprised? It's _always_ trouble with you."

"I-" But the Doctor didn't get to finish his sentence as someone whacked him hard across the back of his head. Emma, Rory, and Amy didn't even have time to react before the same thing happened to them.

**A/N - Ah, that was awful. This was definitely a filler. But I have the next "episode" written out, and just wanted to get to it because I really like how it's turning out! Don't be mad at me D:**


	8. Let's Play a Game

**A/N - Thank you to ConfusedSoAmI and UltimateDoctorWhoFanGirl for reviewing! I hope this makes up for the filler :P**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

Emma woke up to a sharp pain in the back of her head. What had happened? Right, someone decided to knock her out. She pushed herself up off the cold floor, putting a hand to her forehead as the room tilted and spun. "Where the hell am I?" She looked around, seeing grey walls every way she turned. She stopped as she saw a door in one, an overly bright light hanging above it. "Doctor?" She knew she shouldn't have gone with him. Damn him for being so persuasive and _endearing_...okay, it wasn't entirely his fault. It was Nathan's fault for being a desperate creep. It was also her fault for agreeing to go with him, but she didn't feel like admitting it at the moment. "Amy? Rory?" The only response she got was her voice echoing through the room. "Damn." She suddenly spun around, hearing the sound of gears and grinding metal. Her eyes widened as a TV lowered from the middle of the ceiling. "What-" The screen flickered and a woman appeared. She was in a nearly blinding white room, not to many shades lighter than her skin. Her bright red lipstick and dark hair probably made her seem paler than she actually was.

_"Hello, companion." _Her accent was American, which made Emma raise an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to say something. _"Do not bother asking any questions, or trying to leave. This was recorded while you were sleeping and the door will not open until my message is over." _The question 'who are you?' died on her lips at that. _"I'm sure you're wondering where the Doctor and his previous companions are, correct? Don't worry, they're alive. For now."_ The woman smiled. _"We're going to play a little game."_

"A game? Really?"

_"There are four parts to this game, and within each of them lies a lesson. If you can't get through all the games, you'll be killed. If you wish to leave the Doctor after you learn these lessons, you're free to go and he and his friends will be terminated. If you wish to continue travelling, you'll have to find them." _The screen went black. The grinding started up again as it raised back to the ceiling.

Emma stood there, blinking at the spot where the television previously was. "That's it? You couldn't at least, you know, tell me what the games are?" She ran a hand through her hair. "Of course. _Of course _this would happen. I knew I shouldn't have come! I mean, Jesus, I _just_ start travelling with the Doctor and this happens! I have to save his arse, as well as Amy and Rory's!" She began to circle around the room, eyes trained on the ceiling. "I just wanted to go to Italy! I can't play your stupid game! I am a twenty-one-year-old human! Do you hear me?" Frustrated, she turned around and slammed her palm against the wall. She wasn't entirely sure why she was so angry. Probably because she foolishly expected a nice day in Italy and instead has to save the lives of two people and an alien she barely knows. "_I can't bloody do this!_" Her forehead thumped against the cement next to her hand. Aside from her harsh breathing, all was silent. "God forbid you give any recognition." She pushed herself away from the wall. "Fine. You want me to play your stupid game? I'll play it."

There was a ding and the door beside her slid open to reveal a long hallway. She cautiously stepped out, seeing that the walls were covered in all sorts of weapons. Pipes, knives, pistols, and even an inflatable hammer. She shook her head at that and kept walking until she reached another door at the end of the hall. "There's no doorknob." She ran her hands over the flat surface. "Or a button of some sort. Um, beep me in, would you?" There was a harsh buzz and a red light flashed through the room. "You want me to pick a weapon, don't you?" She huffed. "Alright. Just stop with the lights!" The flashing stopped as the overhead lights returned to white. She began scanning the walls for something practical. Definitely not the inflatable hammer. One part of the wall caught her eye; a section that had different sizes of lumber hanging on it. "Always wanted to hit someone with one of these." She grabbed one of them, flipping it in her hand. "Okay, I'm ready. Let the games begin."

_**ooo**_

"I've been wandering around this corridor for ten minutes! This is more boring than Monopoly." Emma let the two-by-four drag along the floor as the she continued down the hall. "A _game_." She scoffed. "More like too much exercise." She halted in her footsteps at the sound of tapping. It was quick and getting increasingly louder. She began to raise the two-by-four. A child suddenly came into view, running as if his life depended on it — which it probably did — and she caught him by the arm before he could get past her. "Whoa, sweetheart, calm down." She crouched so she could look into his wide, terrified eyes. "What are you running from?"

"The lady." He looked behind her as if said 'lady' would pop up. "She's evil." He slipped his arm out of her grip, only to slip his hand into hers. "We have to go, before she gets us!" He tried to drag her in the other direction.

"We can't!" She dug her heels into the floor. For a little kid, he was shockingly strong. "Look, kid, I have some, um, acquaintances that need saving." She smiled weakly. "I can't just let you go on your own, so please come with me. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you." He hesitated, but when he saw the wooden plank in her hand, he nodded. "Good. Come on." She straightened her legs and began leading him down the hallway. "What's your name?"

"Toby."

"That's a good name. I'm Emma." They made their way down the seemingly never-ending hallway. "Where did you come from? Is it much farther down?" He stopped walking completely, not giving her an answer. "Toby?" She looked at him. He was deathly pale and she could swear his eyes were red.

"You shouldn't be so trusting, Miss Walker." He grinned, showing a set of razor sharp teeth. "Things aren't always as innocent as they seem."

She took a couple steps back, grip tightening on her two-by-four. "I never told you my last name." She tripped over her own feet, falling onto her butt, the plank sliding across the floor. She grabbed for it, and that's when Toby jumped. She slammed down painfully onto her back, just barely having time to grab the boy's shoulders to keep him from biting her. He growled, straining against her hold and snapping at her face, drool oozing from his mouth. "Oh, God!"

Who thought a trip to Italy could turn into her having to fight off a little demon boy?

**A/N - Cliffhanger? Sort of ;) The Doctor will make an appearance in the next chapter! Well, in a way...**


	9. The One Who's Going to End It

**A/N - Thank you to Lady Island Rose, UltimateDoctorWhoFanGirl, Eternal Awesomosity, and Ali for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who. I only own my OC, Emma Walker.**

* * *

Emma's arms shook. The little bastard was far stronger than her, and she knew she couldn't hold him back for much longer. Thinking fast, she moved one of her hands to his face to keep him back as her other arm stretched out to grab the two-by-four. Her hand slid around the floor until she finally found it. She let go of his face for only a second before she grabbed the plank and shoved it into his mouth. "Get off, Toby!" Their faces were barely an inch apart and she glared up into his red eyes. "This is not normal! Little boys aren't supposed to maul people! Then again, you're not a little boy, are you?" She finally managed to shove him off and she scrambled to her feet, holding out the wood as a warning that she wasn't afraid to hit him.

"I told you," his voice was raspy now, nothing like the sweet tone he had before. "things aren't always as innocent as they seem." They circled each other.

"Yes, clearly! You're the devil in a six-year-old's clothing." She spat. He started to repeat himself and that's when she realized. "Is this the first lesson, then? It's quite _stupid_. Things aren't always as innocent as they seem! I don't see why I need to learn tha-" She cut off as Toby charged at her. She didn't have time to defend herself, though it turned out that she didn't need to, as he exploded into dust as soon as he hit her. She coughed against the dust cloud, waving her hand in front of her face. "Jesus Christ." She heard a ding behind her and turned to see a door had appeared and was now sliding open. "I'm _never_ naming my son Toby." She stalked into yet another hallway. "God, what is this? Just one long hall that never ends? This is just _irritating_." She didn't get a response. She didn't really expect one. "So, I guess he was game number one. Maybe game number two is being mauled by a bear..."

"Emma!" The Doctor came from around the corner, bursting towards her as fast as he could. "Thank goodness, Emma!" He grabbed her face in his hands. "Are you hurt? No, no, I'll check later. Look, Amy and Rory escaped, we need to find a way out, so- ow!" He rubbed his chest where she'd poked him hard with the two-by-four. "What was that for?"

"Oi, don't think I'm falling for your tricks again! First that little boy, and now this? I'm not _that_ stupid, honestly."

"What are you talking about? Emma, it's me!"

"Prove it."

He rolled his eyes. "Your full name is Emelyne Walker."

"Not proving it!" She jabbed him in the chest again. "Toby knew my last name, so you could know my full name and easily be a fake."

"Alright." He clenched his jaw, clearly getting frustrated with her. "You have a poster of Johnny Depp on your ceiling, as well as all of his movies. Well, _those_ aren't on your ceiling, but you do have them."

She warily lowered the two-by-four, giving him a nod. "Okay. So, finding a way ou-" He suddenly grabbed her hand and started running. "Right, I'll just follow you!" They arrived at the door she'd come through just moments ago, only to find that it was now closed. "I'm so shocked." Her sarcasm earned her a smirk.

"Let me try something." He pulled his screwdriver out of his pocket, aiming at the door. Emma furrowed her brow.

"I thought you'd lost your sonic?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I found it." He frowned at the screwdriver and shoved it back into his jacket. "Looks like we'll have to find another way out, yes?" He grabbed her hand again and she couldn't help but still be suspicious. It wasn't as if she hadn't already been tricked, so it probably happened again.

"You know," she drawled. "this whole mess wouldn't have happened if you had just remembered where you parked the TARDIS."

"Yes, of course, sorry."

"You're not the Doctor!"

Her sudden outburst had him jerking around to face her, eyes wide. "What? Of course I'm me!"

"Au contraire, mon frere!" In the back of her mind, she felt really stupid for saying that. "I may not know the Doctor very well, but when I first suggested that he forgot where he parked the TARDIS, he gave me the look of death!"

"I can't have a change of heart?"

"No."

His smile turned into a dark smirk and he grabbed the lapels of her jacket, pushing her up against the wall. "Hmm, you _are_ smart. I almost find it..._sexy_." Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She hit him as hard as she could with the two-by-four and he stumbled back, clutching his stomach. "That hurt, Emma." He lunged for her and she just managed to dive out of the way, making him slam into the wall. "What's the matter? I'm just going to kill you. It's your fault for trusting me."

"You know," she gave a nervous laugh. "I'm still a bit worn out from Toby. Couldn't there be a ten minute break between games?"

"That would be too easy." He stepped forward and she stepped back. "You wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't trusted me, Emma. But no, you had to go with the mad man in a box because you were bored, right? That's what your files say."

She froze, confusion clear on her face. "Files? What fi-" She realized her mistake of stopping when he had her up against the wall again. She didn't even get a chance to hit him with the wood before he knocked it out of her hand. Apparently, once a two-by-four has been thrown, shoved in a child's mouth, and used to hit people, it gets weak; if the fact that it broke in half as soon as it hit the floor was proof enough.

"We've been watching. So many people have been fooled, we had to end it." He looked practically insane as he stuck his face in hers. "Don't trust him. Don't-" He suddenly stopped and fell back, releasing her. "My God, it's you."

"Who? This doesn't make any sense!"

"How could we have been so idiotic?" He laughed. "We thought you were just another companion, but no. You're the one who's going to end it!"

She didn't like that sound of that at all. "End what? What are you on about?"

"Game's over, Emma." He gave her a final smile before disintegrating before her eyes, only leaving behind the sonic screwdriver. She stood with her back to the wall for a minute longer. End _what_? And why was the game suddenly over? She felt uneasy, like she was missing something huge. With a shaky hand, she grabbed the screwdriver and when she looked back up, a door had appeared at the end of the hallway.

"If the game is over, I guess the Doctor is behind there?" She cautiously stepped forward and the door slid open like she expected. But, there was no sight of Amy, Rory, or the Doctor. There was only a desk, and sitting behind it was the woman from the video.

* * *

**A/N - So, are you confused? Good. More will be explained in the next chapter, but not too much.**


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